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Diet rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol a potential risk factor for Alzheimer's disease

Mice that were fed a diet rich in fat, sugar and cholesterol for nine months developed a preliminary stage of the morbid irregularities that form in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.

30 Nov 2008

Experts urge change in asthma management

The need for an urgent change in asthma management is advocated this week by a group of respiratory specialists, patient representatives, GPs and paediatricians from across Europe and North America.

30 Nov 2008

Crossing scientific boundaries to understand the rejection of drugs

A physicist from The University of Nottingham and a mathematical modeller from The University of Southampton are joining forces in the hope of answering a biological mystery - how do our bodies reject some of the drugs that are sent to cure us?

30 Nov 2008

Multitasking proteins driving cell behavior

A study describing how cells within blood vessel walls move en masse overturns an assumption common in the age of genomics - that the proteins driving cell behavior are doing so much multitasking that it would be near impossible to group them according to a few discrete functions.

30 Nov 2008

Advance in K-Ras-mutated cancer research

A team of cancer researchers from several Boston academic medical centers has discovered a potential treatment for a group of tumors that have resisted previous targeted therapy approaches.

30 Nov 2008

Potential gene target for treatment of common hearing, vertigo and balance problems

A UCLA study shows for the first time how microscopic crystals form sound and gravity sensors inside the inner ear.

30 Nov 2008

AIDS communication breakdown means new threat to the UK

With World AIDS Day on December 1, a leading expert is urging the Government to repeat the 1980s campaigns in order to deal with a new crisis of awareness and understanding of the AIDS threat in the UK.

30 Nov 2008

UW tackles neglected realm of training for science professors in training

U.S. science and engineering students emerge from graduate school exquisitely trained to carry out research.

28 Nov 2008

Study identifies genetic variants giving rise to differences in metabolism

Common genetic polymorphisms induce major differentiations in the metabolic make-up of the human population, according to a paper published November 28 in the open-access journal PLoS Genetics.

28 Nov 2008

Researchers discover genomic causes of acute lymphoblastic leukemia relapse

Scientists at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital have identified distinctive genetic changes in the cancer cells of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) that cause relapse.

28 Nov 2008

Research identifies cell receptor as target for anti-inflammatory immune response

Cell reception. By comparing normal mice (left) with mice that are genetically engineered to lack certain receptors in their spleen (right), scientists have shown SIGNR1 receptors (blue) are required to facilitate an anti-inflammatory action.

28 Nov 2008

Parents of new babies should be considered for a whooping cough booster, say experts

A booster vaccination for parents of new babies and other household members may be the most effective way of preventing the fatal form of whooping cough in young infants, say a group of paediatric intensive care doctors on bmj.com.

28 Nov 2008

Protein-misfolding accelerates yeast evolution

Under stress, yeast cells can unleash a remarkable mechanism based on protein-misfolding that gives them new characteristics without requiring genetic mutations.

28 Nov 2008

Breakthrough for dialysis patients

Suffering from end-stage renal disease (ESRD), a growing number of patients at the Centre hospitalier de l'Université de Montréal (CHUM), have become the beneficiaries of a North American breakthrough: high efficacy hemodiafiltration (HDF).

28 Nov 2008

Condensin II proteins found to keep chromosomes apart when necessary

If chromosomes snuggle up too closely at the wrong times, the results can be genetic disaster.

28 Nov 2008

Discovery of new way in which epigenetic information is inherited

Hereditary information flows from parents to offspring not just through DNA but also through the millions of proteins and other molecules that cling to it.

28 Nov 2008

Novel target for therapeutics against Staphylococcus aureus

Researchers at the Texas A&M Health Science Center Institute of Biosciences and Technology, and the University of Edinburgh have uncovered how a bacterial pathogen interacts with the blood coagulation protein fibrinogen to cause methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections, a finding that could aid in developing therapeutics against the potentially deadly disease.

28 Nov 2008

First study showing how protein fine-tunes the heart

Dr Andrew Whitten, Dr Cy Jeffries and Professor Jill Trewhella, from the School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences, University of Sydney, with Samantha Harris, from the University of California, USA, have the first data showing how a protein in heart muscle cells works to maintain regular heart function.

27 Nov 2008

Yale researchers find molecule that may help regulate how much animals and people eat

In the battle against obesity, Yale University researchers may have discovered a new weapon - a naturally occurring molecule secreted by the gut that makes rats and mice less hungry after fatty meals.

26 Nov 2008